Tag Archives: February 2012

The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® is predicting existing-home sales will jump 7 to 10 percent in 2012 to the highest level in five years, based on an “uneven but higher sales pattern” so far this year.

Pending home sales fell a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent from January to February, which was up 9.2 percent from the same time a year ago, NAR said in releasing its latest Pending Home Sales Index.

NAR also reported a similar trend for existing-home sales, which were down 0.9 percent from January to February, but up 8.8 percent from a year ago.

The pending sales data released today provides a glimpse into more recent trends, because it tracks homes that were under contract in February — deals that will in most cases be finalized within one or two months.

NAR said 31 percent of REALTORS® experienced contract failures in February, in some cases because buyers’ mortgage applications were rejected or because appraisals came in below the negotiated price.

In the Northeast, NAR’s index slipped a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent from January but was up 18.4 percent from a year ago.

The Midwest saw a month-over-month gain of 6.5 percent and a 19 percent gain from a year ago.

Pending home sales fell 3 percent in the South from January to February, but were up 7.8 percent from a year ago.

In the West, the index declined 2.6 percent from January to February and was 1.8 percent below the index rating in February 2011.

In its latest economic forecast, NAR predicts existing-home sales will total 4.65 million in 2012, up 9.1 percent from last year. That forecast assumes that the U.S. economy will grow at a 2.3 percent annual rate and add 2.7 million jobs this year.

The number of completed foreclosures in February 2012 was down on a monthly basis and slightly on a year-over-year comparison, but overall, foreclosure inventory has decreased compared to a year ago, according to CoreLogic’sNational Foreclosure report for February.

Completed foreclosures are counted as properties that get auctioned off and purchased by a third party, such as an investor or lender.

For February 2012, 65,000 completed foreclosures were reported, compared to 66,000 in February 2011, and 71,000 in January 2012. The number of completed foreclosures over 12 months ending in February was 862,000. From the start of the financial crisis in September 2008, CoreLogic estimates 3.4 million completed foreclosures.

“Even though the pace of completed foreclosures has slowed, the overall foreclosure inventory is decreasing because REO sales were up in February,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “With the spring buying season upon us, the inventory may decline further as the pace of distressed-asset sales rises along with the rest of the housing market.”

Approximately 1.4 million homes with a mortgage, or 3.4 percent, were in the foreclosure inventory as of February 2012. Nationally, the number of borrowers in the foreclosure inventory decreased by 115,000, a decline of 7.6 percent compared to February 2011. For the prior month of January 2012, no change was reported.

The share of borrowers nationally that were 90 or more days late on their mortgage payment fell to 7.3 percent in February 2012 from 7.8 percent in February 2011, but up slightly from the 7.2 percent in January 2012… Read the rest of this article by

Overall, growth is expected to continue for the year, but at a modest rate, according to the Fannie Mae February 2012 Economic Outlook report.

Economic growth is projected to be at 2.3 percent for 2012, an increase compared to 1.6 percent last year, according to the report.

For the first time in seven years, the housing market is projected to contribute to gross domestic product (GDP), the report also stated, but by a very modest amount.

“Risks to the forecast are more balanced between the upside and downside since our January forecast,” said Fannie Mae chief economist Doug Duncan. “The economy appears to be more resilient than in previous months, and should be less vulnerable to shocks, including any spillover from the European sovereign debt crisis”…

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